Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Note
Beforeusingacleaningdisc,checkthedrivevendor'srecommendationstodeterminewheth-
er this method of maintenance is recommended. Some vendors do not recommend the use of
cleaning discs because the felt pads or brushes used can scratch the laser lens.
How to Reliably Record Optical Discs
Sixmajorfactorsinfluence yourability tocreate aworkingdisc:interface type,drivebuf-
fer size, the location and condition of the data you want to record, the recording speed,
whether the computer is performing other tasks while trying to create the disc, and the
features available in your recording software. If you are having problems, there are some
things you can check. The simplest thing you can do to ensure trouble-free recording is to
make sure the drive has some form of buffer underrun protection. The data buffer in the
drive holds information read from the original data source, so that if a pause in data read-
ing occurs, there's less of a possibility of a buffer underrun until the on-drive buffer runs
empty. Current drives with buffer underrun protection virtually eliminate this problem, no
matter what size buffer is in the drive. Some mastering programs might offer an option
to disable buffer underrun protection. However, you should leave it enabled at all times
unless you are using an old drive that does not support this feature.
Tip
If you have problems with reliable disc creation at the drive's maximum speed, try using a
lower speed. Your mastering job will take twice as long, but it's better to create a working
disc more slowly than ruin a blank more quickly.
Buffer Underruns and Buffer Underrun Protection
Whenever a drive writes data to a disc in either DAO or TAO mode, it writes to the spiral
track on the disc, alternating on and off to etch the pattern into the raw media. Originally,
it was not possible for a drive to realign where it starts and stops writing like a hard drive
can; after it started writing, it was necessary to continue until finished with the track or
disc. Otherwise, the recording (and disc if it is not rewritable) would be ruined, creating
a useless disc often referred to as a “coaster.” To avoid this problem, the recording soft-
ware, in combination with yoursystem hardware, must be capable ofdelivering a consist-
ent stream of data to the drive while it's writing.
Sanyo was the first to develop a technology that eliminates buffer underruns once and
for all. It calls the technology BURN-Proof (BURN stands for buffer underrun ), which
sounds a little confusing (some people thought it prevented any writing on discs), but
in practice it has proven to be excellent. Other technologies were developed by various
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